Becoming More
by WonderfulChaos
Summary: During the second part of the Chunin Exams Team 7 has its with the somewhat deranged Snake Sannin Orochimaru. Though instead of adding an extra seal onto our blond hero, he finds a reason to try and kill him instead. After being nearly torn apart by Orochimaru, Naruto is on Death's doorstep when the Kyuubi saves him and offers help. With just a few changes for him. FemNaruto
1. Chapter 1

Naruto stood, breathing heavily as he saved Sasuke's life just seconds ago. With a kunai in each embedded into the nose of Hidden Grass Ninja's enormous snake summon he held it back. Sasuke stared shakingly at Naruto with eyes full of surprise and fear. "Hey...you...alright..." Naruto panted as he chuckled softly and slowly lifted his head while everyone looked at him dumbfounded. Staring dead at the shaken Uchiha, Naruto smiled awkwardly with his bloodied face. "...scaredy cat?" A small light of recognition registered in Saskue's eyes as he heard those words.

Suddenly a tongue stretched down from above and wrapped around Naruto's body. Slowly lifting him, he was slowly turned to see the tongue belonged to the Grass Ninja. Naruto struggled in vain against the ninja's slimy grip. "Damn it! Let me go!"

The ninja laughed as he looked at Naruto in slight awe. "So the Nine-Tails brat is still alive..." He grabbed his right hand with his left hand and quickly started pushing chakra into it his finger tips. "When your emotions are heightened...the power of the Nine-Tails overflows...how interesting." He lifted Naruto's shirt and his eyes widen slightly. Slowly he let his chakra fade from his hand.

The seal on Naruto's stomach was clearly visible and was glowing a slight orange. But that is not what stopped the Grass Ninja in his tracks. No it was the design of the seal. _Damn. This seal has changed from when I last studied it. How's that even possible._ He looked up and took in Naruto's struggling appearance and saw what brought him rage like he hadn't felt since he lost the Hokage seat to Minato. _You son of a bitch bastard Minato! You had a child with that red-headed bitch and he inherited your damn luck of impossible life saving miracles!_

The seal on Naruto's stomach had somehow altered itself to the point that if any other seals were to be placed on it would crumble and release the Nine-Tails itself. The Grass Ninja wanted Naruto out of the way his way, but he didn't want a Bijuu raining hell down on his head. Something needed to be done though for he knew Naruto would grow to be a dangerous foe. Finally a conclusion came to him. A quick and simple one.

The ninja chuckled as he suddenly tossed Naruto high into the sky. "Say hello to your parents for me Naruto!" Unable to do anything in midair, Naruto watched through one open eye as the ninja threw several kunai he had stored chakra in at him. All he could focus on was the points of the kunai as they rushed towards him. One second they seemed miles away and the next all he knew was pain as they tore through his body. Rocketing it away from his teammates and the enemy ninja.

Sasuke and Sakura watched as Naruto was essentially torn to shreds right before there eyes. Neither one believed there was anyway the blond would survive. _Naruto... _They both thought before Sasuke launched himself at the Grass Ninja. "You bastard! I'll make you pay for this!" he yelled as he drew several kunai and shuriken into his hands. His Sharingan spinning wildly as it advanced to its next stage. The Grass Ninja grinned as he prepared to fight the enraged Uchiha, but froze and cursed his luck as he felt multiple presences enter the forest of anbu level. Quickly he launched his neck out and caught Sasuke in midair, biting down into his neck and leaving a foul chakra mark behind before let going and fleeing.

Sasuke dropped to the floor as pain coursed throughout his body. He screamed out in agony as he fell back to the ground. He convulsed on the ground before passing out. "Sasuke!" Sakura screeched fearfully. She rushed over to him with a tear stained face.

* * *

_I'm going to die. _Tears flowed down Naruto's cheeks as he flew over the trees. _I'm actually going to die. _Blood trailing behind him fell into the Forest of Death assisting and slowly quenchiing its thirst for blood. _Here in this goddamn forest at some freakings hands. _Sakura could be heard screaming Sasuke's name in the distance. _Damn. Damn. Damn. I can't die yet. I haven't achieved what I've wanted. _Naruto began to fall back into the forest. _I'm not Hokage yet. I haven't made Sakura notice me. I'm still a nobody. _He began slamming through trees limbs. _No. I can't die here. I won't die here. _Slowly the world began to darken for Naruto. _I will...I will...I will...become more than this..._**So be it**.Just before his world went black everything was quickly tinted crimson red. Being hit by a wall of pain like never before, Naruto gasped for just a second before instantly and gratefully losing conciousness.


	2. Chapter II: Ecounter

Everything was wet. Naruto slowly opened his eyes as he felt his body was surrounded by water. He tried to move but none of his muscles would respond to their commands. Moving was apparently completely out of the question. The air around him was completely still and it was almost pitch black. The outlines of pipelines along the ceiling could just barely be made out. The water strangely was neither cold, hot, nor was it even in between them. It didn't even have a current to it, yet he was slowly floating across the water towards an unknown destination. Naruto's mind was so scrambled that even though he knew something was wrong he didn't try to resist anymore than the little he already had. Just let his body be dragged away by an invisible force.

It felt like months had passed as Naruto continued to drift along nonstop. Nothing about his surroundings had changed at all. The dark outlined pipelines repeated the same pattern over and over again. No air could be felt blowing through to tunnel. The current-less water still was without a temperature to it somehow, and Naruto continued to not move. By now he was pretty sure he had died. That he was unable to survive the encounter with the Grass Ninja. He had always dreamed of battles to the death but he never dreamed that he would be treated like a rag doll by a ninja he felt was just toying with him.

_Hell. I've died and gone to Hell._ He closed his eyes to shut out the depressing view he was given. I made a new dream. Just got a new goal, and I didn't even get a chance to go after it. Heat slowly began to fill the air as it stirred slightly. Alive I was hated. Unloved by what I wanted to protect. Treated like an outcast in my own village. In danger constantly in my own home. A steady dripping noise began to filter around Naruto in the otherwise silent corridor._ Who was I kidding? I never had a chance at anything. Not Sakura. Not completing this exam. Not being awarded the Hokage seat._ Slowly his body began to sink deeper into the water that slid coolly against his exposed skin. Should just have given up. I was meant to die. I was meant for Hell.

**"...No."**

Naruto's eyes slowly open as he heard a soft melodious voice whisper into his ear. As his they opened he finally took note to the changes that had occurred. Again he tried to move his body and was able to twitch his fingers, but that wasn't much progress. When his eyes fully opened Naruto slowly took in his new surroundings. He was in an enormous open space that was shaped somewhat like an egg around the edges. There were large red pillars that stood in what would be considered the middle of the air and stretched high into the darkness above. They were spaced close together but just far enough apart to fit three people through at once. Except for to that were firmly pressed together. The water around him was a reddish-black that became redder the closer it was to him. He continued to drift for awhile longer. Passing through the pillars and towards a wall of darkness before two hands reached down and stopped him.

Naruto's eyes took in the small pale hands that had a soft but firm grip on his shoulders, following up their slender arms to find a face of a sad women. Her hair flowed down her face in soft waves, and even though it was a deep, dark red it was somehow glowing around the edges. A slim face with a small nose separating two light purple eyes, and a scar just above the left eye. The women seemed to be on the verge of tears. **"...No,"** she said. **"You are not meant for Hell Naruto. You are meant to be something so much greater."**

Naruto stared at the women for a beat before trying to move again. Everything was stiff, but he was able to at least sit up. It was a slow process of movement, but he eventually came to be almost level with the women. "Are you a mind reader?" was the first thing to pop out of his mouth. Chuckling softly, she shook her head no. **"Sadly I am not. But ya know awesome that would be if I could."** Naruto smirked slightly at her faint attempt to joke with him before looking at her a bit more closely. Even kneeling he could tell that she was a little on the tall side. Her hair cascaded all the down to water and wrapped around her like a curtain with much of it floating on top of it away from her. The hair hid her legs and immediately gave him a picture of her floating above the water without them that he had to shake away. She had slim figure on her with a pair breast just slightly smaller than his head. A plain black shirt was the only noticeable clothing on her. Suddenly he noticed that she was holding him on top of the water with her hands.

"Can you tell me where we are? Also who are and if you can't read minds, why did you say what you did then?" Naruto's eyes narrowed slightly as he tried to puzzle the last part out himself.

**"I'm...you can call me Akane,"** she said making Naruto smile at her,** "and we are currently somewhere no else can get."**

Naruto tilted his head and scrunched his face up in confusion. "But...that makes no sense. How can no one else get here if I can? If you can?"

Akane shifted slightly. **"This place. It's a mindscape. Your mindscape to be exact. No one other than you can come in here without your consent. So we are really just in your head ya know. After you were blown away, and the pain knocked you out, you came into yourself."** She could see the question forming in his eyes as he stared at her accusingly and rushed to answer him before he voiced it. **"Me, I've always been here ya know. Been with you since the day you were born. That's why I said what I said earlier. After being here so long I've been able to tune into your thoughts. I know more about you than any other person in the world does Naruto."**

For a moment Naruto was silent. He looked away from Akane and down at the arms that were holding him above the water. "You've been here my entire life?" She nodded then said yes when he still didn't look up at her. "How? Why are you here?"

Her mouth opened and closed like a fish as she tried to answer the question. The subject was obviously very delicate. I guess there is no avoiding it. I have to tell him sooner or later, she thought sadly. Nodding she waved a hand as she loosened her grip on Naruto slightly and conjured a small, circular table with two matching chairs into existence. Standing slowly, Akane carried him over to the chairs then set him in one before sitting herself in the other. "I could have just walked you know." he grumbled quietly. "How did you make these chairs and table appear like that?"

Akane sighed and looked down at her hands that she had clasped in front of her one the table. **"Being here so long has given me a small ability to bend reality in your mind ya know. Now...I don't want to repeat myself so please don't say anything until I finish."** Naruto was going to ask why when she looked up at him and their eyes met. So much same seemed to cloud those light eyes that it shocked him into silence. **"I...I wasn't always with you ya know. I used to have a complete life of my own before I ended up here. But something terrible happened and my power was used to cause harm to others in a large scale. I never wanted to hurt anyone but I wasn't in control ya know. A man with the Sharingan had me in a mind control jutsu."** Naruto silently cursed those eyes and all the Uchiha who ever achieved them. **"Anyways after a real major battle with a very powerful man I was sealed away into a women to be kept in check ya know. That man was your first Hokage Senjuu Hashirama and the man who controlled me was Uchiha Madara.**" Naruto's eyes widen in disbelief and started to say something when Akane held up a hand to quiet him. **"Don't interrupt me. Whether you believe it yet or not doesn't matter. You will soon enough. Now after I was sealed I essentially gained back some of my will that had be stolen from me by Madara but any sense of freedom I had was completely gone. In a way I guess it was better than being forced to kill those I never wanted to ya know. Anyways since then I have constantly been sealed inside of someone. Well, almost constantly. On the day that my second jinchuuriki, what you guys are technically called, gave birth I was ripped out of her, almost causing her death and set free. But I was immediately met with the power of the Sharingan again, and was once more a mindless puppet bent on destroying everything in my path. That was the day I rampaged over Konoha 12 years ago. And the rest…**" Slowly she trailed off as she lowered her head. Knowing that he already knew all there was left to say.

Naruto sat in stunned silence as he absorbed all of what he just heard, and pieced together what she left off. "You...you're the Kyuubi. You're the reason I lived the way I have had to all these years." Akane nodded and shrunk down into her chair as he had spoken barely above a whisper. Clenching and unclenching his fist, Naruto relived every moment he tried to understand why he was so hated. Each moment he was told that the shopkeepers didn't sell to his kind. Each time he ran for his life with a mob of enraged civilians trailing him. Then a thought dawned on him. "Your last jinchuuriki...she...was she my mother and what happened to her if you only almost killed her?" Akane's only answer was the stiffening of her body. That was all the answer he needed. "You ruined my life in every possible way before I even had the chance to live it. Why shouldn't I hate you even if none of this was your fault?"

At the word "hate" Akane looked at Naruto almost feeling completely defeated. For a moment there wasn't a demon capable of destryoing millions of lives for pleasure in front of him, he realized. Just a long-lived women with nothing left in her life. **"You have every right to hate me Naruto. But believe me when I say I loved your mother. She was my very first friend and I was so happy to be with her ya know. And I love you Naruto. Just like I would my very own kit if I had one. You're so much like a daughter to me."**

"I see well...wait! What did you just say?! I'm no girl I'm all man! Can't you see that or are you blind!" Naruto scowled at Akane as she pulled away from the table somewhat. "**N...Not anymore. That ninja did a pretty decent number on your body ya know. It took a lot of my power to keep you alive, certain places,**" Akane said while stressing the words certain places, **"were pretty much done for. So I changed you into a girl. Keeping you a boy would have given you a horrible case of ED."**

Naruto shivered at the abbreviation thinking of how bad it would be to have Mr. Happy completely out of commission. _Better gone forever than hanging there useless. What the fuck could cause it though..._ "I guess I understand you," he sighed, "but I have a question?" Akane sat up slightly straighter as he seemed a bit warmer than he did just minutes ago. "If I'm a girl now, why do I still look and sound like a boy?"

**"Oh that's because this is who you are. On the outside you are a girl. But on the inside you are a guy ya know. You are literally a man stuck in a women's body. And don't worry about your attitude or preferences changing much. So no need to worry about like, getting into guys...unless you were secretly gay that is."**

"I'm not gay."

**"I know. Just giving an example."** For a moment the two sat in relative silence. The water around had drained to the point their feet could touch the floor and they wouldn't be drowning. There was also a slight breeze passing along taking tension away with it a little at a time.

"So will you tell me about my mother? What was she like and what she did for fun? Tell me who her friends were and how close they were do you think? Was she a ninja like me? How did she meet my father? Wait, who is my father? Was he a ninja too or something? Did he love her? Why is..." The questons just came rolling out of him as the came. Here was someone in front of him that had all the answers to them and he needed them.

Slowly Akane reached over to Naruto like he was a frightened rabbit and took his hands into hers.** "Not yet Naruto, but after this part of the exam is over. I'll tell you everything you wanna know about you mother after that, but your father is a different story. I'll tell you about him another time."** Naruto grumbled and puffed out his cheeks like a baby. Akane chuckled slightly at the sight and shook her head before looking him in the eyes again. **"Until then Naruto, let me help you. I can train you even if I can't leave your mind. If you gave me the chance I could open the door to an entire new world of jutsu for you ya know. Assist you in understanding things you couldn't before. Help you truly become more."** Naruto was caught by the sincerity in both her voice and beautiful purple eyes that seemed to have brightened right before his. He knew even without thinking about it that he would accept her offer. Not only was she truly and honestly sincere about helping him, but the chance to truly become more, be more than what he has come to be or would have turned into, was just too great an offer to pass up. So all he did was nod and watch her smile for the first time since he saw her. **"Great! As soon as we have a chance we'll get right to it. Now it's time for me to send you back and wake you up."**

Naruto stood an stretched out his arms and legs. "So how do you plan on doing that?" Standing as well, she walked over to him and placed her hand on his chest. Giving him a slight chakra filled shove she pushed him out of his mindscape. Akane closed her eyes and sat on the weakening table as the chairs rotted away. **"...I won't fail him Kushina. I swear it."**

* * *

A girl slowly opened her eyes to see a canopy of trees far above her with pinpricks of moonlight filtering through to her. She was laying down on the ground of the forest floor. The ground was cold from the night air that was blowing and she decided to stand up. When she did she found that her clothes were ripped to shreds almost exposing her completely to the world. What do I do now? I can't possibly walk around like this.

**"Henge Naruto,"** a slightly disembodied voice said into the girls head. Jumping slightly, she whirled around trying to find the source of the voice. **"Naruto. It's just me. Your time in your mindscape unlocked a mental link for us. Now we can talk whenever you want to ya know. All you have to do is think and I'll hear you. And if you don't wanna talk just think the connection over."** Sighing her relief that she wasn't going insane the girl began to walk away when she stepped on something squishy yet firm. Looking down, she saw the dead body of a male sand ninja. His lower half was smashed under a pile rocks while the back of his head was obviously smashed from how flattened it looked. Blood was sprayed across the front of his shirt and face with some of it dripping into his wide open mouth and eyes.

_What the hell?! Akane, what kinda messed up shit is this?!_ Looking around she saw two more dead sand ninja at the edges of what seemed to be a crater. The furthest one from her was missing his head, while the other one arms where gone and half his face was nothing more than a bloody mess. **"This happened when you crash landed you slammed into these unfortunate bastards. You hit them with so much force you killed two of them instantly ya know. The other guy, the one you stepped on suffered a bit before finally dying. Kept yelling about sand for some reason.**" _Oh._ Looking at their prone bodies, the girl saw something that made her heart do back flips in her chest.

Moving over to the second body closest to her, she found the boy held both the Heaven and Earth scroll in his pouch. Quickly tying the pouch to her leg the girl made to take off and leave. **"Wait!"** Stopping mid jump the girl ended up tripping and face planting hard on to the rough ground. **"Eh...sorry but you should henge into your original self to move around for now so that no one knows what happened to you. Also your new body is different in more ways than one and you won't be able to fight probably in it."** Nodding and then henging into her old-self, Naruto stood and brushed the dirt of her tatterted clothing.

_Thanks._ Looking down at her hands, Narto thought of everything wrong he had done with this body. From the pranks he pulled on the wrong people to not rejecting what he should've done. Having a new body was like having a knew life. She could do things all over again and completely different. _And Akane..__. for everything that has happened to me in my life, I don't blame you and would like to try and be your second friend._ Cutting the connection before anything more could be said, Naruto leapped away to find her missing teammates. Somehow knowing exactly what direction they would be in. But as she searched she felt something she hadn't felt since she met Iruka. A true sense of knowing that you're making the right choice in trusting someone. Deep inside of her that someone could be found smiling softly with tears of joy.

**Author's Note:**

**Sorry about that false update that happened. Was going to update yesterday, but screwed up and ended up with a blank second chapter without anytime to put up the actual chapter itself.**

**Akane means "brilliant red" so I chose it as the Kyuubi's name just to play on her hair a tad bit and something different from the usually names.**

**Chapters will slowly become larger. Review?**


	3. Chapter III: Prelims

**Author's Note:**

**I have no concept of the value of ryo and have been trying understand it have gotten nowhere with that. For anyone who might think that I killed off Gaara, the Sand team that got hit by Meteorite Uzumaki was all male. I mean, if Temari saw that thing coming she'd probably just bat it away for a home-run anyways.**

**Disclaimer: I can't draw.**

**"Demon Talking..."**

_**Demon Thinking...**_

"Person Talking..."

_Person Thinking..._

**"Demon/Person Talking..."**

**__****Demon/Person Thinking...**

The trees were blurs as Naruto flew through the Forest of Death. While running she tried to feel out anything different with her body but there was unable to notice anything out of the ordinary. Her sight hadn't changed, her sense of smell was still above average but that was already normal for her. She didn't feel any stronger now and in a way it was irritating not to have any significant change than from boy to girl. _Hey Akane. I thought you should that I was stronger now._

Akane sighed and rolled around on the remains of the rotten table. **"I never said anything like that Naruto. All I said was that you wouldn't be able to fight properly without training in your new body ya know. I didn't say you were stronger." ****_Though you're in for a surprise when we begin training, _**she thought with a slight giggle. _Don't be laughing at me in their Akan. _Naruto sped up in an attempt to use the sound of the wind to block out Akane who was for some reason laughing like a maniac now.

After a few more minutes a running, Naruto came to a stop on the edge of a clearing. In the clearing he saw four different teams looking like they had just finished a standoff. There was his team along with the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, and the team with the guy in the green spandex suit and the Hyuuga on one side while the Sound team that had randomly attacked Kabuto was on the other. **"Don't move Naruto." **Akane said just as she was about to jump out into the open. **"Don't reveal yourself just yet. For now just watch." **Naruto silently agreed and settled into her position while she watched and listened to what was happening in the clearing.

Sakura was hugging Sasuke as the mummified Sound nin held out an Earth Scroll to them. "You are strong…" he said gaining a surprised look from the eight Leaf nin in front of him. "Sasuke...we can't defeat you at this time. Here's a gift to you...please let us leave." Setting down the scroll, the Sound Nin moved to pick up his fallen teammates. No one moved to stop him. "This may seem convenient, but there is something we must find out now. But I will promise you this...if there is another situation where we meet in this exam, we will neither run nor hide." _This makes no sense, _Naruto thought. _I obviously missed a lot. _**"Hush. Pay attention Naruto."**

The Sound nin began to leave before Sakura's voice stopped him. "Wait!" she cried out. "Who is Orochimaru? What did he do to Sasuke? Why to Sasuke?" _Something was done to Sasuke? Damn, it must've happened after that freak got rid of me. _Naruto's fist tightened as she thought of the Grass nin.

"I don't know...we were merely ordered to kill Sasuke." For a moment he looked down with a strange expression after answering Sakura, but shook it off and fled with his teammates on his shoulders. For a moment everything was still until the Ino-Shika-Cho trio rushed towards Naruto's team. "Hey you guys alright?" Choji called out. "This sucks, but Ino you take care of Lee!" Shikamaru stood in between Lee and Ino, and Sasuke, Sakura, and Choji looking irritated, if only slightly roughed up, as usually. Sasuke was holding his arm as trembled and was mumbling to himself.

As Ino was tending to Lee, his teammates jumped down and landed beside him. "I'll take from here." The girl with brown hair stuck into two buns bent down and grabbed Lee by the collar. _Wow she has a nice ass. _**"Naruto! Don't be a pervert!" **Akane was frowning as she oogled the girl's backside. _Eh...sorry, but I can't help looking. _Naruto wiped away a bit of drool feeling slightly embarrassed. The girl proceeded to shake Lee quite violently while yelling at him. "Snap out of it! Lee! Lee!"

After the girl let her go, Lee slowly came around. "Eh...Tenten, why are you here?" he asked. "Hey? Where are the Sound nin?"

"We came to save you!" she replied slightly frustrated with her teammate. "Oh, and that Sasuke kid drove them off." Lee nodded his understanding. "Why did you break the plan and act alone? Plus you are all beaten up."

"Sakura was in trouble...and as a man…" Tenten waved off his excuse with the shake of her head. The Hyuuga stood next to her and frowned at Lee before looking at Sasuke. He seemed to be deep in thought about a problem.

"Hey you guys." Ino looked around as everyone looked at her. "There's been something that's been bothering me since we got here. Where's Naruto?" The others, besides Sasuke and Sakura, seemed to just notice that the were a blond haired boy short since the very beginning. "Did he get lost or something, cause I doubt someone as thick-headed as him would chicken out." Sakura's head fell slightly as Sasuke gritted his teeth. _Can I come out now? _Naruto asked Akane. **"Yeah."**

Sakura shook her head and looked at everyone. "Naruto...he was...Naruto was…" Just as she was going to say that Naruto had been killed in their last battle, she sprung out of the trees and landed in a pose much like a particular pervert would make. "Hey Sakura! Ya miss me?" She smiled widely at a stunned Sakura and Sasuke as they stepped back. The two trembled as if they were seeing a ghost.

"Hey you knucklehead where have you been?!" Ino screeched as she stomped her way in front of Naruto. "Do you even know what these two have been through while you have been off doing Kami knows what in this damn forest? If we hadn't shown up when we did you wouldn't have a team anymore. Not like you..."

"You can't be here." Sakura's wavering voice cut Ino off in the middle of her rant. She was shaking as she stared wide eyed at Naruto. "You shouldn't be here. You shouldn't even be alive right not."

"Hey Naruto may not be the best ninja we have but is that really called for Sakura." Shikamaru looked between Naruto and Sakura trying to gauge the situation.

"Shut up Shikamaru. You weren't there. You didn't see what happened. This guy is an imposter. Naruto was killed!" Sakura was slowly beginning to panic at the sight of her supposedly dead teammate.

Ino stepped forward looking slightly uncomfortable. "Hey calm down Sakura. Don't joke about that stuff. Especially not in a place like this."

"I'm not joking! Naruto is dead!"

"Eh, Sakura it's me. Naruto. Can't you tell its me when you see me?" Naruto took a step forward only to be forced back by both Sasuke and the Hyuuga appearing in front of her in fighting stances. _What the hell?!_ "Sasuke. Come on you gotta be kidding me here."

"The dobe is dead." the Uchiha said coldly causing Naruto to flinch slightly. "Me and Sakura saw Orochimaru tear Naruto apart with a load of kunai." Silence consumed the area as everyone took in what Sasuke had just said.

The first to break the silence was Shikamaru with a loud sigh. "How troublesome can you guys get. Can't you tell that's Naruto." Sakura rushed to argue back he cut her off. "I mean all you need to do is ask the guy one question if you don't believe me."

The Hyuuga, who was unfazed by any of what was going on around him, glanced momentarily at the Nara before looking back at Naruto. "And what might that be?"

Taking a deep breath and leaning against a tree the lazy kid lifted his hands. "Real easy to know if you actually know the guy. Naruto...what is your favorite. Food."

Naruto leaned back while grinning widely and putting his hands behind his head. "That's easy. It's ramen noodles. The food given to us by Kami himself to cherish and worship for all eternity. The main place of worship is Ichiraku Ramen since they sell the best ramen in the world. I mean have you tasted their cooking there? It's amazing. It's like the go to Kami everyday just to ask for a little more flavor in every noodle of every ramen dish..."

Everyone's sweat dropped as Naruto silently continued to rant about the ramen. In a quiet unanimous vote, everyone decided this was most definitely the real Naruto. "Well while he's off being an idiot we're going to the tower to finish this exam." Ino led her team out of the clearing to finish the test. "Same here." Tenten said as she, the Hyuuga prodigy, and Lee left. Leaving Sasuke and a still shaking Sakura to watch and listen to Naruto.

After a moment's hesitation Sasuke turned away from Naruto and walked over to Sakura. "I don't know how he survived what happened to him, but it seems like he found a way to do it. We'll ask when we get a chance what happened to him and where he was." He looks over his shoulder. "But for now let's collect some would for a fire tonight. I need to walk or something...and get away from that idiot. Just ten minutes of him being back and I want to kill him..." Sakura nods and follows Sasuke as he leaves for wood.

Naruto was still continuing her talk about ramen. "...know for giving anyone great strength. It's why all the great ninja who ever lived ate before going into battle. Not only that but…" **"Naruto dear," **Akane sighed, **"Everyone has left. You're the only left in the clearing anymore ya know." **Stopping abruptly, she looked around and noticed she was alone. "Those bastards ditched me!" she yelled and stomped her feet. "And to think I was worried about them when I came running for them." **"Oh don't be such a big baby. Your teammates left to get wood for fire tonight ya know. They didn't leave you. The others have their own hides to worry about."** Naruto huffed even though it made sense to her she didn't like being left behind. **"So forgetting them let's worry about your hide at the moment. What are you going to tell your teammates about how you survived that Grass nin's attack? Are you going to tell them the truth?"**

For a moment Naruto entertained the idea of telling Sasuke and Sakura the truth, but quickly brushed it aside. _No. I can't tell them yet. I can't tell anybody as a matter of fact. I would lose them if they found out, and the adults would probably try and kill me if they knew I talked to you. No. Scratch that, they would try and kill me. _Akane sighed sadly at how she affected Naruto's life. _Hey don't worry about Akane. None of this is really your fault when you really look at it. Those villagers have always had issues way before I was even born. Plus I have an idea of what to tell them, so don't you worry bout a thing. Just need your help with one thing._

**"Oh? And what might that be?"**

_I'm going to reveal myself after I finish this part of the exams have ended, so that by then I'll be a Chunnin and things might be a bit easier for me. Thing is when I do that calling me Naruto might be a bit weird since I'm a girl now. So...you know…_

**"So you need a new name then right? What do you have in mind?"**

_Minako!_

**"No."**

_No? _Naruto was a little stunned at how fast Akane had dismissed the name she had chosen for herself then was slightly angered. _What's wrong with Minako?! It's a wonderful name!_

**"No, no, no. I didn't mean it was a bad name. Just that there is another name. Sorta like you already have it for a name ya know."**

_Oh? And how is that possible hmm? If you hadn't noticed I was born a BOY!_

**"...good moms come prepared with more than one name." **Naruto quieted once Akane had said that. She hadn't thought that her mother might have planned for a girl just in case she had one instead of a boy. **"She was going to name you Kamiko if you were a girl. Truth be told she was really hungry when she thought up the name you've been living with your whole life ya know."**

Naruto chuckled softly to herself at Akane's small joke. _Kamiko huh? I like that name. I mean I am the Superior Child of my team and all. _Naruto laughed out loud as she adopted her new name that in a sense had always been her name. "From this day forward! I shall be known as The Great Kamiko!"

"What the hell?!" Naruto, Kamiko from now on, turned to see a confused Sasuke and a slightly disgusted Sakura. Kamiko stood frozen in place as she looked at her teammates. "Naruto...what the hell are you doing?!"

"Um...I was just yelling out to the world about this dream I had. Yeah yeah. That's it. This dream I had about being called The Great Kamiko." She forced a laugh hoping Sakura would buy the lie. _Buy it! Buy it! Buy it! Buy it!_

Sakura shook her head and set down the wood that was in her hands. "Whatever. You're a weirdo." Sasuke grunted and did as Sakura did and then light the fire. The three sat around the fire as they began to settle in for the night. After a long moment of strained silence Sakura turns to Kamiko with a troubled expression on her face. "Naruto," she started. _Alright. Here it comes. _"How did you survive Orochimaru's attack? I mean anyone else would've ...died." Sasuke clasped his hands in front of his face and glared slightly at Kamiko.

Taking a deep breath, she smiled at her two teammates. "To be completely honest with you guys I really don't know." Sasuke glared even harder at her while Sakura blinked owlishly at her. Akane was doing the same only while looking at her own hands and slightly chuckling hysterically. **_She's so fucked now._**"I remember seeing all those kunai flying at me and the next thing I knew I was in this cavern. All my wounds were fixed and someone had left these behind." She takes out the Heaven and Earth scrolls to hold them up triumphantly.

Not believing what she was seeing, Sakura snatched away the scroll and examined them. Her eyes had gotten even wider. _Man, if her eyes widen anymore that's what she'll have for a head, _both Sasuke and Naruto thought. "These...these can't b-be real. Th-Th-They just can't be." Sakura started to slightly stutter. "What are the ch-chances that this i-isn't some kind of a b-bomb?"

Sasuke stood and took the scrolls away from her and compared them to the scroll the Sound team left for them and the memory of their last scroll. "These are real Sakura." he said after a moment's pause. "Let's not worry about why they were left behind. Just get this exam over and done with. We head for the tower at first light." Sakura, after hesitating agreed with Sasuke and went to lay her pallet down to sleep. Sasuke watched Sakura until he was sure she was sleep and turned to Kamiko. "So...what really happened Naruto?"

"Huh? But I just told you and Sakura what happened and that I don't really know all that much."

Sasuke scoffed. "Don't insult me Naruto. I'm a damn Uchiha. You can't lie to me that easily. Tell me the truth." Kamiko just shook her head and lifted her hands in a 'what do you want from me' gesture. For a beat neither of them said a thing until Sasuke stood. "I'll find out eventually Naruto. Whether you tell me or not." Sending her one last glare, he went to lay down just a small bit away from them.

Sighing heavily, Kamiko flops onto her back. "Man that guy is such a damn prick. Thought he was actually going to sit there until I told him."

**"Maybe...you should've let me help you make up the story Kamiko?" **Akane felt like she had just watched a meteor just miss crashing into the world. **"It might have been more solid if you had let me help." **She waited for Kamiko to say something until she heard her snoring softly. **_Well then. Wasn't like I was talking or anything. Just go right on and…_** Akane suddenly felt many presences surround Kamiko and her team. At first she was going to force some of her chakra out to scare off whoever was planning to attack until she noticed that the presences seemed to be keeping others at bay. Howling began to echo throughout the forest as wolves kept the wild animals from getting close to Kamiko and the others. **_Strange. If anything I thought foxes would show up to protect Kamiko. I wonder why the wolves have come out._**

* * *

Kamiko felt drained as she flopped onto the of her tower room. It seemed each room in the tower was split into three separate rooms with a small meeting area in the front. It was a convenient setup for every and anyone. Groaning, she tried to burrow as deep into the bed as possible. It had taken them a full day's run to reach the tower and get the speech from Iruka. That left them with one day to recuperate. And Kamiko needed some recuperating bad.

_I swear Akane. If Sakura had asked me if I was okay one more time, I was going to choke that bitch until her head popped off! _she thought.

Akane shook her head. **"Don't be stupid Kamiko. If you did that you'd have failed the test ya know. The bitch can get hers later." **Kamiko just groaned again as she mentally relived the day before. The entire time Sakura had been throwing slightly worried glances at her. Asking if she was okay or if they needed to stop so she could rest. Normally that would've made her happy, but as of late Sakura has seemed less and less attractive, and more and more annoying. To the point that she snapped at the pink haired girl.

(FLASHBACK)

"Hey Naruto," Sakura started up for what had to have been the thousandth time. "Are you sure you're okay? We really can stop for a little while if you're tired. You don't have to..."

Abruptly stopping and spinning around, Kamiko grabbed the girl and shook her. "Will you shut the fuck up already! If I was tired or not okay or anything else I'd say something wouldn't I?!"

**"Do it Kamiko! Do it! Ya know ya want to! Punch that bitch in her face! Shut her up forever! Knock that damn forehead off her neck!" **Akane was growling out the words in Kamiko's mind.

Sakura blinked and stepped away from her with wide eyes. "I-I was just worried about you. No need to act like such an ass."

Kamiko's mouth dropped open. "I'm being an ass?! I'm an ass! You know what?! Fuck you Sakura! When have your ever been worried about me before?!" Sakura took another step back as Sasuke just stared unbelieving of the events occuring right in front of him. "You never have cared about me! All you care about is a fucking prick that doesn't even want your flat chested ass! I used to really like you, and now I can't wait to get away from you! You're so weak you're just gonna get killed if no one comes to help you in a real battle!" Kamiko found that her breathing was somewhat labored as she glared at the stupified girl in front of her.

Akana was practically jumping as she was yelling. **"Come on Kamiko! Kill the stupid bitch! She just gonna die like you said ya know! Now just do everyone a favor and just kill the dumb whore! Snap her neck! Stomp some shape into her! Eat her! Do something for fucks sake!"**

Kamiko turned and left to get away from her team and to hide her shock at what Akane was saying. _A-Akane? Are you alright in there? _Akane was silent as she continued to run.

(FLASHBACK END)

Kamiko sighed. _It wasn't like you were any help in stopping me. You were egging me on the whole time. I swear if you hadn't freaked me out slightly I would have listened to you. What was your problem anyways?_

Akane smiled and laughed nervously. **"You'll find out soon Kamiko. In about five days you will completely understand what my problem is ya know." ****_And I fear for those who piss you off when it finally begins. Why couldn't she be the type of girl that doesn't have them? Though it'll definitely funny to watch those bastards get theirs. _****"For now drop the stupid henge and get used to your new body. Work those legs and get some clothes so you don't look like some commonly used whore on the corner. I'm asleep now." **She immediately cut her link too Kamiko and curled up on a patch of dried wood that was floating across the water.

Groaning again, Kamiko rolled out of bed and swayed lightly on her feet as she stumbled towards the full length mirror in her room and dropped the henge to see what she looked like. Immediately her clothes fell to the ground around her ankles and shirt canopied out suddenly. Long red hair draped down her back to her butt and ended with silvered colored tips. _Interesting._ Her eyes were no longer the bright blue they used to be, but were now a stormy gray on her much slender face. She gave her breast a glance and found that they didn't much interest her. They were slightly larger than Hinata's and were clearly visible through the shredded clothing. Not being at that interested in them she propped her hands on her smaller waist and tilted her head. _What the hell am I supposed to do about clothes? Maybe I can steal some from Sakura that aren't pink._

Nodding to herself, Kamiko snuck out of her room and into Sakura's which was void of its occupant. After a long a messy search that left clothes everywhere, all she had found was a pair of panties with the price tag still on them and a towel to cover her chest since she threw away her tattered jumpsuit in her room. Kamiko checked the price tag as she walked out of Sakura's room and Team 7's area. _She waste this much on just a pair of underwear! This is what she spends her mission money on! With how much underwear she has I could pay five months' worth of my water bill with them! _Shaking her head in disgust at the waste of money, she turned to find the bathing room she was told about and slammed into something solid, falling to her butt.

Kamiko rub her forehead as she looked up accusingly at who she had bumped into. In front of her was a slightly unamused Ino who was rubbing her chest. "Hey you should really watch where you are going," she said with annoyance.

Kamiko stood and glared up at the blonde in front of her. "Maybe you're the one that needs to watch where you are going. I wasn't even walking yet, just turning around." The sound of her own voice made her jump slightly. It was soft but strong.

Ino rolled her eyes at the shorter girl. "Yeah. I'm the one at fault here and you...you...wait. Who are you? I haven't seen you once this entire exam and you look way too young to be a Chūnin or Jōnin. So what are you doing here?"

Kamiko fish gaped for a moment. She hadn't thought of what to tell anyone she might run into about why she was here nor who she was. She desperately tried to grasp for an excuse. "Oh. Me? I just...uh...stay in here sometimes ya know? Yeah. I come out here and stay in this building to get away from my family. I didn't know the Chūnin Exams would be held in the forest. So I was already in here by the time it started and was told not to leave." Kamiko smiles at Ino and puffed out her chest. She felt proud of her on the fly lie.

The blonde snorted and flipped her hair. "Yeah right. That still doesn't tell me who you are. And how'd you get through The Forest of Death on your own? This place is infested with evil crap."

Kamiko shrugged and turned and began to leave. "It's my secret and I'm not telling you." _Now leave me alone. I really feel the need for a good soak for some reason._

"Hey wait up! Where are you going?" she jogged to keep up with the fast walking Kamiko. "Bathing," was all she said. "Me too. I'll walk with you then." _Oh joy._

Rolling her eyes, she just continued to walk. She took short but quick steps, and felt her hair slightly bounce with each step. Ino had to lightly jog to keep up with a silver tipped red head. They bathing area wasn't very far from the rooms so the two quickly appeared at the entrance to them. Kamiko started for the entrance to the men's bath.

"Woah! Hold on! What are you doing? You can't go in there." Ino grabbed Kamiko's hand to stop her.

"Why not?" Kamiko asked her with a confused look on her face. The reason quickly dawned on her when Ino made a face. "Oh right...um...I'm used to being alone here so I never really worried about which one I used. Hehe." _That could've ended badly. Guess I owe Ino one for that...damn._

Puckering her lips, Ino just pulled her into the girl's bath. No one was in it so Kamiko was relieved not to have to deal with the other girls. She quickly took off Sakura's panties and hopped into the warm bath as she tossed the towel to the side. She moved out to the far edge and sunk in up to her nose, sighing as she relaxed in the warmth of the water.

_I wonder what I'm going to do about clothes. Sakura's won't fit around me breast. Why did Akane make these things so damn big? _Kamiko closed her eyes as she let her mind wonder. Not long after she felt someone touch her back and jumped. Turning around she found a naked Ino kneeling behind her with outstretched hands. "Um...hi?"

Ino giggled lightly as she looked down at her. "My names Ino. Ino Yamanaka. What is your name?"

"Kamiko...Uzumaki." she said after a brief pause already formulating her next lie. It was quite hard to with Ino's chest clearly on display in front of her.

At first the blonde girl's eyes widen in shock then narrowed dangerously. "Naruto if you..." Kamiko lifted her hands and shook her head vigorously. "Oh. You're not Naruto? Then are you related to him or something?"

Kamiko nodded as she moved slightly away from the blonde. "I'm his cousin. He doesn't know about me."

Ino nodded and looked slightly down. "Why is that? I mean, wouldn't you like to have your cousin know about you?"

Kamiko bit her lip and looked away. "To tell you the truth my parents are dead." Ino gasped and put a hand up to her mouth. "Yeah. Our clan, it was destroyed and they sent me away at the cost of their lives for me to find Naruto's mom and live with her and him, but she wa dead too when I got here and I didn't know what to do so I hid in here. I've seen him but haven't had the nerve to approach him just yet. I mean, what am I supposed to say to him?" She sniffled slightly at the end and turned away from Ino. _Damn I'm good, but where did that come from? _Akane shifted uncomfortably in her sleep.

Ino wrapped Kamiko in a surprise hug and held her close. "It's okay. I don't think I could understand what you have deal with but I understand that it must not be easy." She turned her around and looked her in the eye. "Not only that but know you can count on me as a friend Kamiko." Unsure of what to say, Kamiko nodded slowly. Ino nodded back at her and offered to wash her back. As her back was being washed, and she did her best to ignore the fact that she was alone with a naked female, a thought came to her. "Hey Ino. What do you think of him as a ninja? Naruto I mean."

"Well I wouldn't say he's a good ninja, but really he's not all that bad either. He just needs to be a lot more serious. Pranks are fun and all but there is more to life than jokes." Kamiko nodded and offered to return the favor of washing her back. Ino gratefully accepted. After the two were clean, they exited the bathing area and went their separate ways.

Kamiko walked into her room and flopped down on to her bed. Even with a full day to do anything she wanted, she planned to just rest. On the way back she had found some wrappings and had wrapped her chest. Laying unfailingly on the bed Kamiko slowly fell into a dreamless sleep. Too soon though she was awakened by the banging on her door. "Naruto wake up! The Hokage has called everyone who passed the second exam now!"

* * *

(AFTER HOKAGE'S SPEECH)

Kamiko was unsure of how she felt about this part of the exam. She understood why these exhibition matches had to be held, but it didn't mean she liked the idea of them. So far none of them have really done much for her. Sasuke's match had had its moments, but ultimately served her no purpose. She had already grilled Kakashi into telling her about his curse mark, so she wasn't surprised. Shino's match was somewhat of a letdown. From the very beginning his opponent stood no chance against him. That Kankuro character had been worth watching though. She had gotten a small understanding of his fighting style and how he used his puppets. A tired Akane had said he wasn't going to be much trouble. Now she was watching Ino and Sakura battle and found it to be a tad bit lacking on the side of skill on both sides. Though she still watched with as much intent as she had with the other matches. After Ino had made her opinion of Kamiko as she used to be, Kamiko had resolved to be much more serious about being a ninja and dealing with any situation.

The two kunoichi charged each with ready blows that the other caught. Drawing each other close and then pushing apart, they launched shuriken at each other. The kunai collided and flew harmlessly away from them. Charging each other again, they punch each other hard in the face sending them flying backwards.

Ino rolled to her feet and glared at Sakura. "There's no way you could be even with me!" she yelled.

A tired Sakura chuckled softly. "Of course! How could I be even with someone who only worries about growing her hair long and looking pretty?"

The blonde clenched her teeth. "You! You better stop disrespecting me!" Shikamaru could be seen staring even more intently at the battle. "Idiot...letting the trash talk get to you...I don't know what she's gonna do." he said.

Choji frowned. "I don't like this Ino..."

Getting red in the face, Ino grabs her ponytail and cuts through it. Holding it up she let out a growl. "I don't need this!" she said as she flung her away. The hair flew around the arena. "I'm going to end this right now! I'll make 'I give up' come out of your mouth!" She took up a small stance and clamped her hands together.

Her entire team came forward and looked at her with shock and disbelief. "...hey...no way..." Shikamaru grounded his teeth as she forced her hands in front of her in some sort of rectangle. "I knew it...she's gonna do Mind Transfer!"

Asuma looked down at his student. "That idiot. I can understand your desperation but..."

"That's useless." Sakura mocked.

Ino just shrugged. "We'll see about that."

"Mind Transfer Jutsu. A jutsu that by projecting your own spiritual energy at your opponent, you can take control of their body for a few minutes." Sakura smiled as she explained the jutsu. "But that terrifying jutsu has an important weakness. First...that the projected spiritual energy flies at your opponent at a slow speed. Second...if you miss your target...it takes a few minutes to return to your during that time your body...will be no more than an inanimate doll."

The arena was filled with silence. "Hey Kakashi," Kamiko whispered, "isn't that like a clan secret. I mean lots of Leaf nin probably already know, but who knows what the others know."

After a second, Kakashi nodded. "If you look at it like that way then it is. A clan's techniques are supposed to be secret." Nodding, Kamiko looked back at the fight and grinned. Kakashi looked at her and stroked his chin slightly. He noticed something different about her and planned to find out after the matches had ended. _Obviously a lot has happened during their time in The Forest of Death. All of them seem changed._

Ino glared at Sakura. "So what!? We won't know until I try!"

"If you miss, it's over, you know that? Right?" Sakura grinned as she started to dodge as Ino yelled out her technique, Shikamaru yelled at her stupidity, and Kamiko smiled even more. Momentarily the arena was silent again as both girls slumped forward slightly. "Who is it?" Shikamaru asked.

"Too bad..." Sakura looked up and smiled. "...Ino." Ino's team sighed in defeat as Sakura glared triumphantly at Ino. "It's over now..." Sakura found she couldn't move and looked down at the ground in shock. "This is..."

"You fell for it Sakura..." A line of chakra filled hair lead up to Sakura holding her in place. "I finally caught you." Ino looked up at Sakura with a sly grin as she stared at her in pure disbelief. "Exactly, that was all an act to get you to fall into this trap. So? You can't move can you? It's a special rope made of my hair and chakra." Sakura struggled to move around in vain as Ino called out her technique again. "Too bad...Sakura." Ino said through Sakura.

"To be hit with that move...Sakura has lost." Kakashi said as he shook his head. Kamiko only nodded in understanding.

Ino raised Sakura's hand and smiled. "I Sakura Haruno would like to..." Ino hestitated as she suddenly flet the need to do more than what she was doing. Dropping her hand she walked Sakura's body up to the top of the rails and looked down at the floor. Taking a deep breath, she lauched her body head first towards the ground. Everyone gasped as Ino cancels the jutsu at the last second and Kakashi caught Sakura in a flash.

The proctor, Hayate Gekkō, stepped forward. "Due to outside...*cough*...interference, the winner of this match is...*cough*...Ino Yamanaka!" Silence filled the room as no one was sure how to react to Ino's sudden decision. Suddenly clapping could be heard and everyone looked up at Kamiko.

Ino smiled weakly at her while everyone stared confused, and Kakashi glared at Kamiko. Sakura tried to do the same but felt way too drained to do anything. "What? It was a good match." Kamiko said looking at everyone like it was the most obvious thing in the world. No one said anything as Kakashi, Ino, and Sakura returned to the balcony. Kakashi gave her a look that spoke volumes. Kamiko just scoffed and rolled her eyes. Hayate coughed as he called out the next match. "The fifth match. Temari vs Tenten..."

The match between these two kunoichi was much more interesting to Kamiko than the last. Though it was quite short, both girls were able to showcase a bit of their skills. Ultimately though, Tenten was a horrible match for Temari and was easily batted aside. Temari left her a beaten mess atop her battle fan by the end of the match. After the winner was announced, she unceremoniously launched the unconscious girl away from her.

_She'll definitely be a hard match up, but she seems fun neh Akane? _**"Of course. I know she can't be you ya know."** Kamiko nodded. _You sound better than you did yesterday. What do you think of the competition so far? _Akane thought for a moment before answering. **"The Uchiha and Aburame will obviously be tough to fight and so will the Sand girl we just watched. The Yamanaka and Puppet user won't be a problem at all." **The two watched as Shikamaru lazily knocked out the Sound kunoichi he was fighting. _Damn he's a lazy genius. _Kamiko watched as Shikamaru slouched and walked back to the railings with Kiba jumping down from them. **"Yes. Lazy, but still a genius. So still be careful of him too. Also they're calling you ya know."**

Kamiko started as Kakashi placed a hand on her shoulder. "Ma, Naruto. You're up now." Glaring at it, Kamiko shrugged off his hand.

She hopped over the rails and own to the arena floor. Kiba stood in front of her with a large grin on his face and his white puppy, Akamaru, on his head. "What was up with you staring off into space huh Naruto? Realizing that there was no way that you could ever beat me I bet." Kamiko just leaned back slightly and looked at Akamaru. She felt sick thinking about it, but knew what was going to do. "Hey don't ignore me loser! You know what I'm going to finish this fight all in one punch!" Kamiko shrugged and took up a fighting stance.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes and leaned forward. _Show me how you have progressed Naruto. _Kurenai sneaks a glance over at Kakashi and smirks. She had no worry about who would win this match, believing Kamiko was no challenge for Kiba at all. Team Ten as a group leaned back and snorted as they immediately counted Naruto out, except Ino. She was unsure of why, but felt this match was not going to go the way most of the others thought it would. Sakura just glared daggers at her hoping she would lose to Kiba.

"Begin!" Hayate stepped aside as he started the match. Kiba immediately drops to all four and yells out, "Four Legs Jutsu!" His hair becomes more wild as his nails sharpen and chakra leaks out from his body. "Stay here Akamaru. I got this," Kiba says before he disappears in a burst of speed. Kamiko's eyes widen as she is shocked by a sudden elbow to the stomach and sent flying backwards. She landed in a heap as Kiba laughed at her and began to walk away. "Hey Proctor! He's not waking up any time after that."

As Kiba continued to laugh, and everyone around shook their heads in not so very disappointed disappointment, Kamiko rolled to her feet and ran at Kiba. Akamaru barks a warning at Kiba, making him turn around just in time to receive a hard kick in the face from Kamiko. Eyes widen as Kiba flew back towards Akamaru with Kamiko already charging after him.

Recovering in midair, Kiba flipped around to face Kamiko to find her fist to close to his face to be dodged. Slamming her fist into him with all her might she sent him flying iinto the arena wall. Akamaru ran to check on his partner worried. "You better not underestimate me Kiba. I don't want to hurt too much." Kamiko glares intently down at a shocked and dazed Kiba as he tries to stand.

Kakashi looked at Kamiko with slight surprise. He had seen her get serious many times before, but never like the way she was now. _Is that really Naruto? He seems like a completely different person now. _Everyone else leaned forward with a new found interest in the match.

Kiba used the wall to help him stand as he wiped blood away from his mouth. He looked at Kamiko with cold intent as he straightened his stance. "Obviously I need to step this up a notch and put a loser like you in your place. Let's go Akamaru!" Reaching into his pouches, he runs at Kamiko as he takes out smoke bombs and tosses them. Kamiko covered her face to keep the smoke from going into it as she peeked around them to try and find Kiba. A punch to the back suddenly rocketed her forward onto her face. She stood and took up a defensive stance, trying to sense Kiba's presence without any success. Punches began connecting with her body from every direction, clogging her mind more and more with irritation with each and every blow that landed. _Damn. Damn. Dman! That bastard! Where is that fucking prick?! _She began throwing wild punches into the air hoping to make contact.

**Kamiko! Calm down and just get out of the smoke!" **Akane's yell cleared away Kamiko's irritation slightly as she sprinted out of the smoke, but was met with the flying form of Akamaru. She shook her arm widely as the dog clamped down onto her arm. _I didn't want to do this, but he needs to get off. _Before stumbling back into the smoke with Kiba, Kamiko raised her arm high and slammed it down fast. With a loud yelp Akamaru smacked against the floor. Letting go of her arm in the process. Putting all her strength behind her foot, she made to kick tthe poor defenseless pup. Coming out of the smoke as fast as he possibly could, Kiba grabbed Akamaru protectively and took the hard kick to the ribs that sent him flying across the floor for his partner. Kiba panted and groaned as he rose to his knees. "You...alright there...buddy?" Akamaru barked sadly at Kiba. Letting him know he was okay but worried about his friend. Kiba nodded and pointed accusingly at Kamiko. "You Naruto...what the fuck...is your problem..."

Kamiko rolled her eyes at the boy. "If you don't want him getting hurt, then either protect him better or get that mangy mutt out of my way." Gasped of surprise at her words filled the arena as she lifted her hands and shrugged. "Either way, Kiba. You. Are. Not. Winning. This. Match."

Kiba and Akamaru growled at her with hate. "I'll make you pay for what you did AND make you eat your fucking words!" Kiba reached into his pocket and threw a pill into Akamaru's mouth. The pup suddenly grew slightly and its fur turned red before hopping onto the back of Kiba's crouched floor. "Human Beast Clone!" Suddenly in a puff of smoke, an exact feral copy of Kiba appeared on his back in Akamaru's. _Hm. Like my shadow clones but using Akamaru instead. That's kinda cool. _Kamiko thought as the two charged at her in high speeds. "I'm going to end this punk!" Not wasting any time, Kiba and Akamaru lifted up after the ground and spun rapidly. "Piercing Fang!"

Kamiko's eyes widen and tried to dodge the two spirals by jumping out of their way, but was still hit by their sudden change of direction and flung back against the arena wall. _Damn that's a strong attack. My henge won't holded up against that for long if I keep getting hit by that. A few more and I'll be a half-naked girl with no way out. _The spirals spun in a circle above her before coming back down to strike. Jumping back, she tossed several kunai at them for them to only be batted aside as she was hit again. This time caught in between the two and receiving multiple cuts and bruises.

Kamiko dropped on her back to the ground as Kiba and Akamaru stopped spinning and landed. Kiba was breathing heavily as he held his side. "Where's all your big talk now huh? Where is it?" As she began to stand, Kiba ran at her and slammed his knee into her stomach, making her double over in pain and fall to her knees. He grinned down at Kamiko as she tried to catch her breath and hopped back to Akamaru. "Any chance you had was lost when you hit Akamaru, so give up now or else." Shakily, she lifted her hand to flip the wild boy off. Kiba snorted. "Can't say I didn't warn you. Piercing Fang!"

_Damn, _she thought as she peeked up at the two spirals above her. They were slowly but surely picking up speed to finish the match with the next blow. _Akane...what should I do? _There was a brief pause as she waited for an answer. **"Kunai," **was all that was said. _Kunai? They'll get deflected again. If only I could..._ Her train of thought ended as the answer came to her.

She took out five kunai as she came to her feet. Time seemed to slow as the two spirals began their decent. Everyone, even Kankuro and Temari, leaned forward with anticipation. Knowing that what happens will decide the winner. As her opponents drew closer, Kamiko drew back her arms and launched the kunai at them. The projectiles soared through the skys at the head spiral and were going to collide with it before the second one, which had always been slightly slower, suddenly surged forward and cut across tthe first one acting as a sudden shield when the kunai reached them. The kunai dissappeared into the spiral as a loud yelp was heard and it swerved away, knocking the other one off course and balance, cause them both to crash into the ground on opposite sides of the arena.

Everyone watched where the two had landed. Waiting for the smoke to clear so that they could understand what happened. Kiba pulled himself out of a crater with one arm, as the other was badly injured. He dragged his left leg behind as a trail of blood followed it. The boy grimaced in pain as he pulled himself across the floor over to where his partner had landed. Everyone watched in silence as he slowly made his way towards Akamaru. He reached the dog to get the shock of his life. Akamaru was in a puddle of his own blood as kunai with chakra outlining them stuck out of his side. Cuts were all over the poor puppy's body as it struggled to breath. Everyone could hear his faint whimpering like an echo in a long hallway. "Akamaru..." Tears slid down Kiba's face as he reached out with his good hand to stroke the dogs blood matted fur. "Akamaru..."

Hayate stepped forward and looked down at the boy and his dog with sadness. This was obviously going to be a crushing defeat that will haunt him for a long time. "The winner of this match is Naruto Uzumaki!" He declared as he signaled for the medical team. Dead silence filtered through the arena as slightly saddened Kamiko made her way back to stand by her teammates. She briefly stopped by Kurenai and bowed her head. "I'm sorry for what I had to do to your student and Akamaru, but it was the only way for me to win in the end."

Kurenai shook her head. "No need to apologize for doing what you believed had to be done to win. Though for your sake, I hope Akamaru survives his wounds."

Kamiko nodded. "As do I." She moved on to stand between Kakashi and Lee. Before either of the two could voice their opinions of the match, she sat down and leaned her forward against the railings. "I don't want to talk about the match. At least not at the moment." Lee made to comment still, but was stopped by a hand on the shoulder and a headshake from Guy. Kakashi nodded his understanding, and she mumbled her thanks in return before passing out. The last thing she her was Hayates voice calling out the next match. "Will the combatants for Match 8, Hinata Hyuga and Neji Hyuga, please come down!"

* * *

Kamiko was shaken awake by an irritated Ino. "Hey! Wake up already. The matches are over and the Hokage is going to speak again." She nodded and stood unsteadily before following Ino down to the arena floor. Everyone stood in a line with Ibiki, Anko, Hayate, and Hokage in front of them. Hayate stepped forward. "To all of you who won the rights to compete in the third round test...cough one of you is missing but...congratulations to you all." All the Jōnin instructors and genin who didn't win stood on the balconies. All except Kakashi who mysteriously left, but that bothered Kamiko little. "Ah well then Hokage if you would please..."

"Yes..." the Hokage took a step forward. "Now I'd like to...start explaining the main test." Everyone became more serious with those words. "As I told you before in the main event, your matches will be seen by everyone. Each of you will fight to represent the strength of your countries. I'd like you to show off all your power with no reserves. Which is why the finals...will be held one month from now."

Kamiko puckered her lips a bit. "We're not going to do it right here right now?" A few of the others gave her surprised glances.

"This break you can say will be for preparations," said the Hokage.

"What does that mean?" Neji asked.

"In other words...in addition to informing all the various country lords and shinobi leaders, this is the time needed to arrange for the gathering of the event...and this is also the preparation time for your examination students."

"I don't understand what you're trying to say!" Kankuro complained. "What does that mean?"

The Hokage puffed smoke out of his pipe. "Basically its the preparation to get to know your enemy and yourself. It's the time period where you will calculate your chances of winning by analyzing the data you accumulated during the trial competition. The battles up to now had you fight as if you were in a real combat situation with...the assumption of fighting an unknown opponent. However, the final trial will not be like this. There are those who showed all that they can do already to their rivals...there are those who competed and were badly injured against a strong opponent. To make everything fair, the one month should be used by all of you to improve and advance your skills." The Hokage grinned as he saw the anxious faces before him. "I'd like to dismiss you now but..." Kamiko could be heard groaning in exasperation. "There's something that has to be done for the finals before I can do that." Almost all of the genin groaned now, making Anko chuckle as she walked towards them with a box. "Well now don't get so excited..." the Hokage said shaking his head. "There are pieces of paper inside of the box that Anko is holding so each of you take one."

"I'll come around so wait your turn." Anko said. "Only one now." Each of them reached in and took a slip of paper out and opened them to find numbers.

Ibiki stepped forward with a clipboard and pen in hand. "Alright you all took a piece. Now then, I"d like you to tell us the number on that paper in order from the left."

Dosu. "It's 8."

Kamiko. "1..."

Temari. "7."

Kankuro. "5."

Gaara. "3."

Shikamaru. "9."

Neji. "2."

Shino. "6."

Ino. "10."

Ibiki turned to the Hokage. "That would mean he's number 4."

The Hokage nodded. "Alright, now I will...reveal to you the final tournament."

All the genin gasped. "That's what we drew numbers for?!" Shikamaru exclaimed.

"Now Ibiki, show them the match arrangements."

"Yes..." Ibiki flipped his clip board so that the genin could see what he jotted down. It was a tournament bracket with their names next to their respective numbers.

"Well then you're free to start strategizing or resting as you like. With this I'll dismiss you alll but are there any final questions?" Shikamaru raised his hand. "Yes."

"Since it's a tournament it would mean that there's only one winner right..? Which would mean that only one person can become a Chūnin doesn't it?"

The Hokage cleared his throat. "No! That's not quite it. There will be judges including myself, Kazekage, Lords of various countries that will make mission request, and other ninja leaders who will be watching the final test. Throughout the tornument these judges will be evaluating your abilities...those judged to have the necessary qualities of a Chūnin will...be able to become Chūnin. Even if they lose in their first match."

"That means that...it's a possibility that everyone here will become a Chūnin?" Temari asked slightly shocked.

"Yes, but, also...the possibility that no one will become Chūnin. To advance in the tournament means that you will have more chances to appeal to the judges. Did you understand Shikamaru?" Shikamaru mumbled and nodded. "Well thanks for all the effort you exerted for these trials! You're all dismissed until a month from now!" The genin nodded their affirmation and began to leave for training and rest. "Wait! Naruto, you stay and come with me. There is something we must discuss."

Kamiko turned and pouted as she walked over to the Hokage. _Man, what could he want at a time like this? I need to start training and fast. _Akane chuckled in her mind. **"Oh you'll get to train in about three days' time Kamiko. Cause the three days are going to rough on you ya know." **Kamiko blinked owlishly as she tried to comprehend what Akane could possibly mean. "What is it old man? I have to start training."

The Hokage chuckled. "Not here Naruto." He put a hand on her shoulder and in a puff a smoke they appeared in his office. He gestured for her to sit down as he sat behind his desk. As she sat down, Kamiko noticed that both Ibiki and Anko had followed them here. Their presence suddenly made her realize something was off, and she didn't like the feeling it gave her. "Right. Naruto, you know you can trust me correct?" Kamiko nodded as the hair on her neck stood on ends. This wasn't going anywhere good. "Then I can trust you won't lie to me then correct?" Another nod. "Then please tell me...why is it you have a henge up?"

Kamiko, after a brief startled pause, rushed to deny that she was using one but was cut off by Anko. "Don't try lying here kid. Me and Ibiki were trained to see through stuff like this for prisoners trying to break out, and the Hokage...well, he's the fucking Hokage. You gotta give us some credit for what we do here."

"We know that you're using a Henge Naruto. We just need to understand why." Ibiki said with crossed arms. "You didn't have one up during the written exam, nor did Anko notice one on you before you went into the Forest of Death. But from the moment you stepped into that tower, to this very instant, you have been keeping one up the entire time. Why?"

Frantically looking between the three faces, Kamiko tried to think. _Akane! I don't know what to do here! Help! _Akane sighed and shook her head. **"I'm sorry Kamiko, but I see no other way out of this but to tell them the truth," **she said sadly. Glancing at each of them once more, Kamiko sighed in defeat before telling them all about the battle, his near death experience, meeting Akane (which as Kamiko revealed Akane's gender kunoichi's everywhere felt a swell of pride), and her proposal, dropping the Henge as she did so. The three stared at the red haired, silver tipped girl before them in complete shock. Not one of them was sure as what to say to the girl. "To let you know...I don't...um...think of myself as Naruto anymore." she said in a soft voice.

Ibiki was the first to recover. "Oh? Then what do you call yourself if not Naruto?" Anko and the Hokage soon shook away their shock as well. She mumbled her name. "What was that? I didn't quite hear you."

Taking a deep breath, she looked them all in the eye. "My name...is Kamiko. Kamiko Uzumaki." The Hokage asked if and when did she plan to reveal herself. "I was going to do it during the third exam. That way I wouldn't have much to worry about becoming a Chūnin and all."

Anko smiled at the sudden confidence in the girl's voice. "What should we do with her Hokage?" she asked.

The Hokage leaned back and stroked his chin. "We need to add him...her to the kunoichi list and see how he...she matches up to the others in his...her rank. It's also obvious that he...I mean SHE needs to be educated in the ways of a woman and the female body. Can I leave that to you Anko without you corrupting our new kunoichi?"

Smiling, Anko saluted her leader. "Of course! With the help of Kurenai I'll have her down with a full understanding of the female body in three days flat!"

Kamiko turned her head sharply to the Snake Mistress. "So you're the reason I'm going to have a rough three days! But how did she know?!"

Blank expressions froze on Ibiki and the Hokage's face as Anko just smiled down at Kamiko. "Rough three days? Why, whatever could the Kyuubi have meant by that?"

The young girl shrugged. "I don't know. She just said it would last three days for me." Suddenly the smile on Anko's face froze into plastic as Ibiki sighed and the Hokage developed a look of horror. "What? Was it something I said?"

Anko placed a comforting hand on Kamiko's shoulder. "Your first lesson shall be the bane of all females. The period unfortunately for you Kamiko. It's a bitch."

"...huh?"

**Author's Note:**

******I didn't feel like rewriting any of the prelim matches that happened the same way so my real focus was just Kamiko and Kiba. Hope it doesn't seem like I wa Akamaru. There was this mini scene I took out for Hinata. She was basically having a mental argument with two devils and an angel on her shoulder, telling her who to root for. There was a fair amount of her getting cussed out by the angel who was pro-Naruto and anti-Kiba. Should I write up Kamiko's three days as a later side chapter or no? The next chapter should be more interesting than this.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: To all who read this chapter before I editted it, I apologized for those mistakes. Copy n pasting messed me up when I type this story in two to three different places. I really thought I had deleted those when I was supposed to.**

* * *

Kamiko floated face down in the warm open bathed hot springs of Konoha as she inwardly groaned at a small headache she had. The past three days had been nothing less than both mental and physical torture for her. Both Anko and Kurenai, who didn't understand why Kamiko knew nothing of her body, drilled information into her almost nonstop. Some of it was common sense once Kamiko really took a look at it. Others made no sense at all no matter how she looked at it. And thus far one thing haunts her mind and body somewhat. She got a full understanding of what Akane had meant about "a rough three days", and why Anko seemed so sorry for her.

For three entire days, Kamiko was in pain almost every second of each day. The cramps making her slightly bend over as she walks. Five times Anko had to save some poor man who decided to hit on the young iridiable women's explosive anger. It was nothing less of torture to deal with Anko's style of teaching when Kurenai was not around. Though the worst thing was the blood. The bleeding had come in the middle of the night and terrified the young women to the point of tears. It took both Anko shaking her physically and Akane shaking her mentally to calm down.

Kamiko rubbed her stomach absentmindedly and frowned as she floated about. _I have to go through that shit every month? Damn. If nothing else kills me that will. _She curled into a ball and rolled around the water, careful not to go near the other women. Already having washed, she was now just enjoying the warmth of the hot springs. It was midday and she was feeling too drained to become active enough for her training just yet. Sooner or later today it would start. The past three days would have to be made up for with a lot of intense training.

For a while the bath was great until a slight giggle could be heard. It was faint and didn't seem to register to any of the women in the spring as they continued to chatter amongst themselves joyfully. Kamiko on the other hand heard it quite clearly. The first time it arose she looked around to try and find it for it only to be drowned out by a large group of women's laughter. The second time she hopped out of the water and walked around where she thought it may be coming from. Searching around the border between the men and women's side that she was near, Kamiko noticed something strange about the border. There were small holes littered in random places on it far away from each other. As she neared one the giggling arose again, and this time it came through quite clearly for her to hear.

Kamiko stood frozen as she tried to figure out what to do. At her angel, she was able to see an eye greedily looking through the hole, but was blocked from its sight. Obviously some dirty pervert needed to taught a lesson. Jabbing something into his eye seemed to mean, and she had resolved not to change into her old body again unless she absolutely has to. Also she really didn't want to stay out of the water much longer, but there was no way she was letting whoever this was look at her body. Suddenly a thought hit her.

Turning so that she was facing away from the border, Kamiko put her butt over the hole. The giggling man seemed to not be bothered by that at all. His giggling seemed to increase slightly. Sure that she had, Kamiko hopped forward and yelped, causing all the women to look in her direction. Protecting her butt with one hand, and pointing accusingly at the border with the other, Kamiko screamed. "Someone just touched me!" A few gasp were heard as many of the women's glares focused onto the border. Their eyes, like hawks, found the hole and the eye full of new found fear in. The next moment a war cry was cried out as the women barreled to and amazingly hopping over the border.

Kamiko watched with wide eyes as the women in bathing towels with an assortment of items as weapons chased down a man with spiky long hair running like his life depended on it. For a moment she felt bad, but shook the feeling away and went to sink back into the water. There was a spot where the natural rocks seemed warmer than the rest.

Akane seemed to wait until the girl was at her most comfortable, with her back against the rocks and her body feeling as if it was receiving a soft massage, to speak up. **"Kamiko. come in here for a second will you. I believe it's time we talked about your training, and what you'll be doing exactly. Not only that, but a few other things ya know." **Kamiko frowned. _But I just got really relaxed Akane. Come on. Give me like a few more minutes and I'll be in there._ Hearing an immediate 'no', she groaned as she focused and slowly let herself fall inside.

Kamiko opened her eyes and looked at Akane through the pillars between them. She was shocked to see a giant red fox with nine tails and large purple eyes looking at her. "Um...what things?" she said slowly, trying to get used to the sight of Akane in her true form and the sound of her old voice again. She had forgotten that she would look and sound like her old self in her mindscape.

Akane sighed and shrunk down into her human form. **"Well I believe it is time I told you about your mother. I did promise for after the second exam ya know." **Kamiko eagerly edges closer to Akane. **"But first could you do us both a favor and change the look of this place? This is your mindscape, so you are all powerful in here. You can just imagine a much more comfortable place for us to be." **Kamiko nodded slowly as she took in what Akane said and closed her eyes to begin to concentrate. For a moment, nothing happened, and then the entire world seemed to explode in a flash of bright colors.

Akane covered her eyes to keep from being blinded, but when she finally looked she gasped in amazement. Kamiko opened her eyes and took in what she had made. The ground once covered in the murkiest of waters was now a lush green field of grass. The sky was no longer a pitch black, but a blue as bright and clear as any sky she had ever seen. Trees and hills littered the land in a random array with a mountain rising high in the far off distance. Small animals such as rabbits, squirrels, birds, and monkeys could be seen scurrying about the land and sky. The biggest animals were foxes and surprisingly a few wolves. "Do you like Akane?"

The red haired demoness nod on the brink of tears. She was looking at a tree that was larger and wider than all the others right in the middle of everything. The base of it was fashioned into what seemed like a house just for her. Never before has anything so lovely ever existed. **"I couldn't have ever asked you for more Kamiko. Thank you." **The two hugged and sat down on the grass to continue enjoying the scenery.

Akane scratched behind the ear of a kit that had approached her. "**Your mom was a wonderful woman named Kushina, Kamiko. The best friend anyone in this entire world could ask for. During the entire time I've known her, she was never one to abandon her comrades. Much like you, her friends meant the entire world to her. She loved ramen just like you do and even ate at the same place as you, Ichiraku Ramen, almost every day."**

A look of shock fell on Kamiko's face. "Do you mean that they who my mother was all along?" A small bit of betrayal entered her voice.

Akane smiled slightly. **"The young one called Ayame probably doesn't remember your mother, but the old man most definitely would remember her. Was one of the few that knew that she was pregnant. There are maybe four people who really knew, the old ramen stand man who has always been kinder to you than anyone else, the Hokage himself, your mother's teammate and a clan leader of this village, and a really nice Uchiha woman ya know." **Kamiko's eyes shone with impatiens for more information as she tried to figure out which clan leader could've been her mother's teammate. **"Kushina was a really loud person, but an even louder kunoichi in terms of skills. She wasn't much into learning or using many jutsus outside of simple ones like the shadow clone, substitution, and transforming jutsus. All of her training went into her speed and kenjutsu ya know."**

"Kenjustu?" Kamiko asked confused. "What is that?"

Akane waved her hand back and forth dismissively. **"Don't worry about that right now. You'll get to understand it once you start training. Speaking of, I believe its time we talked about that ya know." **Kamiko nodded slightly disappointed that they were done talking about her mother. **"We'll get back to Kushina another time since there is so much to say about her. For now I need you to go buy these things for your training this afternoon."**

* * *

Kamiko slowly opened her eyes after hearing the list of things Akane needed her to get. They were simple things really. Seal activated training weights, chakra paper, a special order of curved kunai, binds for her chest that were seal activated weights as well, and a wooden sword. Clothing would've been on the list but 'urenai took care of that when she noticed Kamiko's complete lack of female attire. Nothing seemed to be really all the helpful in training other than the training weights. Kamiko didn't complain though. Just got up and left the hot springs to begin shopping.

Finding the training weights were pretty easy since just about every ninja store sold them. Even the weighted bindings were easily found. Chakra paper was given to her for free since one of the owners got a good peak down Kamiko's shirt as she filled with her bra. Needless to say even though she got free stuff she still left the guy with several missing and broken teeth.

She was on her way to find a place to put in her kunai order when she ran into Ino when turning a corner. Quite literally again. This time however Ino was the one who ended up on her butt. "Oh, I'm sorry Ino. Should've watched where I was going."

Ino waves it off as Kamiko helps her stand. "No, it was my fault. I've been walking into people every day since I found out the results of the Third Exam for the Chūnin Exams." The blonde look down with a sad expression as she filled with her hands.

For a moment Kamiko was lost until she remembered who Ino's first round opponent would be. _That's right. She has to fight lazy-ass, her own teammate. _Kamiko slung an arm around the girl's shoulder and pulled her close. "Neh, I heard about that. It must be tough having to fight your own teammate after everything you guys have been through together." She smiled softly.

Ino nodded and leaned slightly into her as tears formed in her eyes. "I never thought I would have to fight either one of my two teammates. I thought we would always be able to back each other up, but now neither me nor Shika can back anyone and Choji and Asuma are going to have to pick between us. Not only that, but there's no way I can win. Shika is fucking master of strategy. Fighting him is like fighting your own mistakes with the way he works." The two girls remember how Shikamaru gave the Sound nin girl a false sense of security before she was knocked out.

Kamiko started to walk with her arm still around Ino's shoulders. She was unsure of what to say to the girl who was now letting her tears of turmoil glide down her face. The two just walked in silence as Kamiko searched for a metal shop to place her order.

It was about an hour later when she finally found one. Ino was still with her yet neither girl had spoken a word to each other. The blonde had stopped crying and leaning on Kamiko and at some point wrapped her hand into Kamiko's. She turned to the silent blonde. "Hold on a second okay?" she whispered as if a loud noise could cause the tears to come back. "I have to place this order in and we can go to your house and...do stuff if you want?"

Ino smiled weakly and nodded. "I would like that you know. You can stay the night too."

Kamiko nodded and went in to place her order for the kunai. _I hope that was okay with you Akane. It doesn't look like we'll be getting any training done._

Akane smiled as she rolled about with a fox kit that seemed attached to her. **"It's okay Kamiko. Go and enjoy your time with your friend for tonight. You just need to use that chakra paper now ya know." **Kamiko nodded and did exactly as she was told after grabbing the paper. The paper suddenly made a sharp cut up the middle of it as one side dissolved into a moist nothingness and the other wrinkled slightly as the edges gained a fine layer of ice on them. Akane blinked in slight amazement. **"Well that is nothing short of amazing. You have a strong affinity for both wind and water element jutsus, a small affinity for lightning element jutsus, and though not well you should be able to use ice element jutsus as well ya know."**

Kamiko, not anywhere near hundred percent sure of what Akane had just said, filled out her order and left. She could expect it by tomorrow. Ino was outside patiently waiting for here. "Well now that that's done, how about we get something to eat?"

The blonde shook her head and smiled. "I already ate. May be coming off this stupid diet I was on, but not trying to make myself fat." Kamiko covered her mouth as she giggled at the thought of a large Ino. "It's not funny!" she pouted until she began laughing with her.

Kamiko grabbed the girls hand and the two strode forward. "So why don't you fill me in on the prelim matches huh? I heard that some were really good matches."

Ino immediately launched into an explanation of Kamiko's match. Believing the girl would want to know how cool her cousin was. During the walk Kamiko learned about the three matches she slept through. She could barely contain her anger when Ino told her what Neji had done to the shy Hinata. The entire match had become pointless at one point, but still the boy fought to hurt the girl. _Hinata... He will pay for what he did. I'm going to beat the living daylights out of that bastard._

Ino was just starting the explanation of Gaara and Lee's match when they reached Yamanaka Flower shop with said red head glaring through the window. The tension build was sudden and fast. The boy wasn't even looking their way yet they felt completely uneasy. Kamiko was feeling the need to prepare to fight and Ino the need to flee and never look back. Seconds felt like years as they passed and no one moved. Eventually though, Gaara turned and walked away without once glancing in their direction, but they were sure he knew they were there. As sure as they were that they were happy he left.

"I thought... that guy was going to attack the shop or something." Ino was shaking slightly as she quickly walked into her store. Her dad could be seen standing tensely behind the counter as he frowned out the window. He seemed just as prepped for a fight as Kamiko. "Is everything alright daddy?"

Inoichi frowns a second more and sighs as he relaxes. He smiles at his daughter. "Yes dear. Everything is just fine. Who is your friend?"

Kamiko smiles, steps forward, and slightly bows. "Hello my name is Kamiko. It is nice to meet you." Inoichi smiles and nods as he begins to arrange flowers around the corner. Kamiko turns to Ino and smiles nervously as she shifts around. "So... what is it you want to do? I have never been to another person's house before so..."

Ino smiles and grabs the girl's hand. "Don't worry about that. We're going to have fun no matter what. Promise." The two girls ran up the stairs to the small house above the flower shop. They walked into a small room that was decorated in purple. The rugs were a fluffy bright purple and the walls were and even brighter shade than them. The bed was covered in a dark purple sheet with an assortment of oddly shaped purple pillows. The only other color in the room were the pictures of Ino, her parents, and her teammates.

"Wow." was all that Kamiko could muster at the monocolored room scheme.

"Yep. This is my home away from home." Ino was grinning widely as she opened up her arms.

"Home away from home?"

"Yeah. I'm not allowed to decorate like this at the Yamanaka compound, so sometimes I'll stay here since it has my own personal touch you know. Plain white and brown get boring after a while." Kamiko nodded her head in understanding. She stood awkwardly in the middle of the room as Ino sat on her bed and kicked off her shoes. "Don't just stand there silly. Come sit down with me." Kamiko sits next to Ino and begins to kick her legs. "So tell me something about you."

"Um... like what?"

The blonde shrugged. "I don't know. I've never heard of the Uzumaki clan. Maybe you can tell me a bit about it." Kamiko frowned and stopped kicking her legs. "Or not."

Kamiko shook her head and smiled. "It's not that I don't want to. It's just I don't remember much about my clan life. I never got trained in our techniques or educated fully in our ways." Ino nodded and wrapped her arms around Kamiko.

Kamiko hugged her back and the two sat unmoving for a long time. She was unsure where the fun that Ino promised was, but she liked the contact and comfort she felt from Ino. It was starting to make her feel bad for not telling the truth. Turning to look at the blonde girl, she found herself staring into two giant pale blue eyes. There was a seconds hesitation in Ino's eyes, but the next thing Kamiko knew the two of them were kissing.

Shock ran through her body as she tried to understand the situation, but soon found herself relaxing. She leaned into the kiss as Ino slowly pulled her closer. The two girls fell to their sides on the bed and wrapped their arms around each other even tighter. Ino broke the kiss and smiled down at a flustered Kamiko. She softly brushed her lips across the girls cheek. Tempting her to turn her head back into another kiss. This one much more heated than the one before it. Ino rolled on top of Kamiko and pushed her tongue deep into the other girl's mouth. Exploring each and every inch of it eagerly. Her hands grabbed onto Kamiko's breast and gently massaged them making her gasp and moan into the kiss.

Kamiko was unsure what to do. What Ino's tongue was doing, what her hands were doing, they felt amazing and she was loving every second of it. She wanted more, so much more. Her own hands glide down Ino's sides and grabbed her ass making the blonde squeal softly and giggle. Soon though Ino's hands glided down her stomach and along the edges of her panties. Gasping and bucking, Kamiko pushes Ino away when she presses down between her thighs.

Breathing heavily, the two girls stared at each other. Ino with a look of complete surprise and bewilderment, and Kamiko a look of confusion, panic, and slight fear. "Kamiko..." She fixed her disheveled clothes quickly and rushed past Ino out of the room. Again Ino called her name but she ignored it and continued to run. Inoichi looked up into to see her flew out of the door with Ino trailing behind her.

Kamiko ran like her life depended on it. Not risking to look back at all. Once more Ino screamed out her name. The tears were evident it her choked yell, but still Kamiko ran.

* * *

Kamiko sat in the trees of the forest that separated the Inuzuka compound and the Aburame compound. She was clutching her chest like her heart was threatening to tear its way out of it. The young girl looked down into the village and wondered what she should do next. She had asked Akane but was given the same answer over and over again. Akane had no answers. Tears edge her eyes and she swiped at them angrily.

Many people had tried to stop her running out of concern for the young girl, but she didn't know that. At the time she felt and saw those hands as nothing more than long tendrils of uncertainty and evil trying to pull her down. Now they were all that and more in her mind as she tried to figure out what had happened between her and Ino. _Akane... _she began for what must have been the hundredth time, but Akane cut her off sadly before she could finish. **"I'm sorry but I don't and won't have an answer for you Kamiko. I wish I did but I have no idea how to handle this." ****_This is what a real parent figure is for. Oh Kushi, I have no idea how to help her._**

Standing, Kamiko let hot angry tears flow freely down her face and began to jump through the Inuzuka compound. Her mind was racing like mad now. _Ino is a girl. I am a girl now. Both of us are girls. She likes Sasuke, a boy. I don't like boys at all. Ino kissed me... she touched me. Why did she kiss me? Why did she touch me?.. damn you Ino. Damn you I'm so confused now. _Closing her eyes tightly, Kamiko tried to squeeze away her tears in vain. They continued to flow like a river to the ocean.

She continued to run until she found herself near the Inuzuka's personal hospital. Kamiko looked at it and wondered if Kiba might be in there with Akamaru. Remembering how the match ended, Kamiko quickly transformed into her old self and walked into the hospital. It looked much like any other hospital would. White was the dominant color throughout the entire area, with the chairs and rugs being a light shade of blue. The waiting area wasn't very large. Just seven chairs along the sides of the wall with a single rug between them. Pictures of many dog breeds lined the wall, and there was a desk about as long as a grown man with a man sitting at it filing through papers.

Kamiko walked up to the man and slapped her hands onto the desk to grab his attention. "Hey! What room is Akamaru in? I wanna check on the little guy."

At first the man was glaring at Kamiko in annoyance for scattering his papers all over his floor and the desk, then his facial expression softened a bit. "Ah Akamaru. Poor pup is in the thirteenth room down that hallway on you left."

Kamiko jerked slightly at the man calling Akamaru "poor pup". She looked down the hall he pointed at. "Is he okay?" The man just smiled sadly and went back to work. After a moment of hesitation, she slowly walked to Akamaru's room. Many thoughts filtered in and out of her mind as possibilities filled it. So little could be wrong with Akamaru that she might be stressing herself for no reason whatsoever. On the other hand, Akamaru could be in the worst condition possible after their match. It was obvious which of those two thoughts had the dominant hold on her mind as her mood steadily dropped even lower. By the time she was standing in front of the door, she felt worse than she ever had before. Taking a shallow breath she walked into the room.

When the door opened a strong silence was present. The room was completely white like the rest of the hospital with diagrams of the canine anatomy lining the walls. Akamaru was on a high bed that was right next to the window. The pup was as still as the day was fresh. His white fur looked roughed and bristled with needles sticking out of almost every part of him. A small respirator was strapped to his muzzle and his eyes were lightly bandage. Kiba's head was resting next to the pup's. He was snoring softly as tears leaked out of his eyes bit by bit. One of his arms sat under his head as a pillow while the other one hug uselessly just above his lap tightly bandaged.

Kamiko took a step in and the door swung shut behind her. She quickly spun around to find a woman with feral brown hair blocking her way out. The woman wore a pair of standard black kunoichi pants with a Jōnin flak jacket. The Inuzuka clan markings could be seen on her cheeks and slightly along her eyes. Her eyes were a sharp brown and mouth was curled into small scowl. Kamiko took a step back feeling threatened until she felt a presence behind her and whirled around to find a large blue, gray dog. It was missing its left ear and an eye patch covered its right eye. The canine was lightly growling at her.

"What are you doing here Uzumaki?" the wild haired woman demanded. "What business do you have with my son?"

"I... just came to check on Akamaru is all," Kamiko said as she glanced nervously around. _I didn't think I would run into Kiba's mother._ "Wanted to know how he was after I match."

The large dog circled in front of her. "That is very kind of you, but I don't think that you should have come here at all. Though you are here now." Kamiko's eyes widened, and she fished gaped momentarily. The large canine sighed. "Yes, I can talk. My name is Kuromaru and I am Tsume's here partner."

Kamiko slowly nodded deciding to just accept it for now. She looked at Tsume, Kiba's mother, and swallowed. "How is Akamaru then?"

Tsume crossed her arms and glared at Kamiko. "The pup is in pretty bad condition at the moment. He can't walk and can barely breath on his own what you did to him." Kamiko lowered her eyes in same. Tsume softened her glare and smiled slightly. "But he's expected to make a full recovery sometime after the Chūnnin Exams are finished."

The young girl's eyes flew up in amazement and she launched herself at the woman in front of her. It was such a tight hug. As if she was trying to kill Tsume in a death hug of joy. She was smiling madly she was so happy.

An elbow came crashing down onto her head. Making her lose her grip on the clan leader's waist and fall to her knees clutching the top of her head. Kuromaru shook his head as Tsume laughed at the girl. "You seem to have a good amount of energy to you pup. I'd like to see you put all that energy into your training for next month."

Kamiko looked up, still holding her head, and grinned. "Of course!"

Tsume's smile faltered for a moment and she sniffed the air. A wild smile seE across her face. "You know, everyone in this village has a certain scent to them. One that helps us fully trained Inuzukas tell you apart even with our eyes closed." Kamiko nodded even though she didn't understand what was being said. "You smell of ramen and foxes for obvious reasons. But now you have a lavender scent on you. All over you actually. I wonder if Inoichi knows what you have been up to with his daughter."

Kamiko stared blankly at the clan leader for a moment until it finally hit her. Inoichi was Ino's dad. Ino always smelled a bit like lavender to her. "Wh-wh-what?! No no no no! Me and Ino haven't done anything like that!" she slightly lied while blushing madly. "I haven't even talked to that loud mouthed girl."

Kuromaru's sweat dropped. "Yeah, she's the loud mouthed one." Tsume laughs and pats Kimiko roughly on the back. "It's okay pup. No need to act so shy about it all. Just make sure you and that girl aren't making more pups." Eyes widening in horror, Kamiko jumped out of an open window and ran away.

Tsume laughed wildly and woke a tired Kiba. "Mom? What are you doing here?"

Stifling her laughter, Tsume began to leave. "Just checking in on mine own. Come home for dinner. Hana might get mad if you don't." With that she and Kuromaru left chuckling. "That boy...girl now," she said, "acts just like his mother did with Minato. She acts just like her mother period!" After a moment of laughter the pranks she had been hit with over the past ten years suddenly rushed to mind.

* * *

The next day Kamiko could be found standing in the middle of Training Ground 9 in the middle of twenty of her Shadow Clones. She was breathing heavily as she looked around her. Each weight on her legs were 100lbs and each arm weight was 90lbs. The binding weight on her chest was have that of her arms and making it hard to breath. For the past hour she had been fighting off wave after wave after wave of her clones as part of her strength and endurance training. She was on her thirteenth and final wave when Akane told her to stop. **"That's enough Kamiko. It is time for you to start on both of your elements' training."**

Kamiko sighed and dispelled all of her clones. _We're going to do this now Akane? When i barely have any chakra left?_

**Of course we are. If you can do it low on chakra then you can make really powerful jutsus when you have all of it. Now make sixty-one clones and have thirty-one of them grab a leaf and apply chakra to it to try and cut it.** Kamiko groaned as she did as she was told. The clones immediately went to work. **"Now you and the rest of your clones grab a leaf as well and use chakra to try and pull all of the water out of it." **Kamiko nodded and for the next six hours of the day she trained until all her clones dispelled from exhaustion.

She stood in the middle of the field holding two leaves as she concentrated on the one in her left until water began to slowly drip out of it, then the leaf in her right hand until it sliced in half. Kamiko jumped into the air cheering triumphantly at her success. "Woohoo! I did it! I cut the leaf!" **"Yes you did," **Akane chuckled, slightly amazed at how fast she had succeeded in her training. **"but you couldn't get much water out of the other leaf it seems. Your affinity for air is obviously more potent than your affinity for water. You already completed the first step of the air training." **Kamiko left the training field with a slightly tuned down smile. "Yeah, but that doesn't matter right? What matters is I can do it. I can actually do it and I completed a part of my training! I'm so much closer now!" She whooped triumphantly again as she made her way to the Ichiraku Ramen stand. Akane laughed at the girl's enthusiasm. **_I could tell her why she got it down so fast, but she seems happy. Best not to mess with her happiness while she's like this._**

Kamiko ran all the way to the ramen stand practically drooling with success and hunger. Flying in throw the flaps, and plopping down into a chair with even more enthusiasm, she banged on the countertop while grinning. "I need seventeen bowls of miso ramen here fast as you can get to me!"

At first the brown haired teen behind the counter was quite irritated with the girl's pounding on her counter, but when she heard the order she gasped. "Are you sure you want that many bowls? I mean that much ramen is a bit much don't you think?" The girl had never seen anyone ask for let alone eat that much ramen before other than Naruto. Unless the person was Akimichi, but whoever this girl was in front of her sure wasn't one of that clan.

Kamiko was a little put off by the girl's reaction to her order until she remembered that she didn't know who she was. _I forgot all about Ayame and old man Teuchi. Is it okay to tell them or…_ She shook off the thought, still not ready to reveal her identity to anyone who didn't already know. The three that did, well five now, was enough for her right now. "Yeah I'm sure," she slightly chuckled. "I mean, I'm a growing kunoichi who is going to be the greatest of them all! You'll see."

Ayame smiled at Kamiko feeling reminded of Naruto. "Alright then, if you insist, but fair warning. when all that ramen goes to your butt and waist don't come crying to me." The brown haired girl went into the back to tell her father Kamiko's order. Kamiko could clearly hear Teuchi ecstatically cheer for his prayers had been answered. Ayame walked back in laughing cheerfully. "So my name is Ayame. What is your name?"

"The names is Kamiko. Nice to meet you Ayame." Kamiko replied.

Ayame nodded. "Kamiko. That's a really nice name. I like it. So where are you from? I've never seen you around this village before, and with hair like yours you'd think I'd have seen you at least once."

"Oh, I'm a new kunoichi you see. I came from my clan far away from here after it was taken out. Talked to the Old...I mean the Hokage and he asked me if I wanted to be a kunoichi for the village. I always wanted to be one so I agreed and here I am three days later."

"Wow." Ayame put a hand to her chest as her father brought out the first three bowls of ramen for Kamiko. "Your clan was wiped out? Like everyone in it but you?"

Teuchi looked at Kamiko with a startled and slightly saddened expression when she nodded. "Well that must really be hard on you. To be the only one left of your entire clan is a hard thing to have to deal with."

Kamiko nodded slowly and began inhale the ramen in front of her. "I try not to think about it much really. It's easier that way you know." She shrugged slightly and continued to inhale her food.

Ayame nodded as her father looked Kamiko up and down. "I understand that but... if you don't mind my askinhg, what clan do you belong to? Most cllans share a physical appearance with in themselves. I've never seen anyone who looks anything like you before." Kamiko choked slightly on her ramen. She wasn't sure it was a good idea to tell them her last name. Teuchi though saw it as her not taking the question very well emotionally. "That's alright. You don't have to tell me if you don't feel up to it." Kamiko nodded, and after a moment's thought continued to eat.

* * *

Kamiko walked home rubbing her belly in content. After Teuchi apologized for his questioning of her, he halved the price of the ramen and sped up his service. Now full, all Kamiko could think about was lying down in her oddly comfortable couch and sleep. But a member of the Anbu had other plans for her.

Appearing out of the shadows, the person fell in a crouching position next to Kamiko. "Lord Hokage has requested your presence on the roof of the Hokage's Tower immediately." Kamiko sighed and nodded. "Understood, thank you Cat," she replied using the Anbu's mask as the person's identity, before hopping across the top of the buildings to the Hokage's Tower.

When she arrived on the roof, she found the Hokage with Sakura standing next to him on his left. The Cat Anbu landed on his other side slightly behind them. "Ah, Kamiko. Good, you didn't make us wait. I need to see what your level of strength is, so I will have you fight young Sakura here so we can see where you are. Me and Cat will judge how well you do. She knows the other reason why this must be done."

Kamiko looked at Cat, who in turn nodded at her. Okay then, let's start then."

"Wait! My name is Sakura Haruno. What is your name?" Sakura walked over to Kamiko and held out her hand.

After a moment of looking at her hand, Kamiko scowled. "You heard the Hokage say my name, and I heard him say yours. There's no need for anymore talking at all." Sakura gasped, and stepped back shocked. **"Kamiko. Are you sure you want to act that way towards her? This is a chance to rebuild your relationship with everyone. Including this pink bitch here."**

Kamiko mentally shook her head as she took up a fighting position. She glared at Sakura like she was an enemy. _With the others, maybe you're right Akane. But Sakura, you said so yourself. That girl's just a bitch._ Akane sighed.

Sakura glared back at Kamiko and took up a fighting position of her own. "I don't know what you problem is, but I'm going to give you a lesson in a respect!" A tick mark appeared on Kamiko's head as she gritted her teeth and waited for the battle to begin.

The Hokage sighed as he could see that there would never be a possible friendship between the two girls. Sakura ruined that long ago without even knowing it. The best he could hope for was that they worked well on missions together if ever needed. Raising his hand he said, "Do your best not to harm each other. Now begin!"

Sakura immediately went to grab a few kunai, but was stopped short by a heavy kick to her side. She flew back slightly, but landed on her and moved to block Kamiko's next attack. As her hands flew up in defense, Sakura blocked a barrage of sharp punches. Kamiko was quickly driving the pink haired girl back and keeping her on the defensive. Leaving no opportunity for any counter attack to be launched. Some people would get irritated with Sakura's constant blocking. Kamiko on the other hand was happy. She eventually jumped away from the girl and launched several kunai at her legs.

Sakura jumped and dodged them, but another heavy kick slammed into her side. Nearly knocking her off the building as she slammed into one of the large stone pillars. Sakura gasped and fell to the as she looked at a clone of Kamiko that was standing over. Kamiko herself slowly approached the girl. Thinking fast, Sakura wildly shrew several kunai and shuriken. Dispelling the clone and forcing Kamiko back.

Kamiko's opponent continued to launch off the projectiles as she ran to her. When she was close enough, the girl tried to punch her, but Kamiko ducked and spun around. Sending a hard kick up to the girl's jaw while simultaneously making a clone the jumped up and kicked her across the face.

Sakura fell to the ground and rolled away. She felt numb as she stood up. Everything was heavy and she was barely standing. She looked at a grinning Kamiko, breathing heavily. The pink haired girl knew that she was severely outmatched. Kamiko could she it in her eyes. Nodding to herself, she created another clone, and with the other one, the three of them spread out and circled her. Panic showed in Sakura's eyes. Her last three on one battle hadn't gone so well, and she wasn't beaten like she was now. Blocking all those punches had sapped the energy from her arms. There was nothing she could do about the onslaught that she felt coming. And come it did.

In burst of speed, too fast for Sakura to see, the three charged her one by one. Non stopped they ran at her. Punching her in the stomach and face. Kicking her in the back just to be kicked again in the stomach and again in the side. Occasionally a sharp pain on her body would appear, and blood would flow from a new cut on her body. They were slicing her with kunai.

Kamiko and her clones attacked the poor girl endlessly. Not relenting at all. Barely a second was passing between each attack. Making it impossible for the girl to block even if she could. Seeing that Sakura was barely on her feet anymore, Kamiko went her two clones to at the girl. They ducked two weakly thrown kunai and kicked the girl in the jaw. Launching her high into the sky to receive a ferocious knee to the stomach from the real Kamiko who had jumped up to meet her. Sakura coughed up blood just before being hit by Kamiko's follow up kick to the face.

Sakura flew back over the edge of the building and began to fall. "Cat!" the Hokage called out, sending the Anbu into action. Jumping over the rails and catching the pink haired girl just before she hit the ground. Cat hopped back on top of the Hokage's Tower and set the now bloodied and unconscious girl down softly onto the ground. The Hokage lifted a hand and another Anbu member, this one wearing a rat mask, appeared, grabbed the girl, and left with her. Kamiko guessed the Anbu must be taking her to the hospital as she dispelled her clones. SHe walked over and stood in front of the Hokage and Cat Anbu.

Shaking his head, the Hokage sighed, making Kamiko and Akane worry. "Well unfortunately you couldn't keep from hurting the girl it seems, but that is not what I am judging on." Kamiko let out a soft sigh and smiled widely. "Now, I must say I am very impressed with all of your improvements. Your taijutsu has most obviously increased. The speed and control at which you move is much higher than I have ever seen it before. I'm unsure of how much power you have, but you definitely can be quite deadly with your taijutsu alone. I haven't seen much of your ninjutsu other than your clones, but I didn't expect much there."

"Hey!" Kamiko cried out indignantly, making the Hokage give her a questioning look. "It's not like I'm no good at ninjutsu, I just haven't had the time to learn any. Akane said she will teach me a few soon once I've mastered my elements."

"Your elements?" the Hokage questioned surprised. "You know what they are?" Kamiko nodded and leaned back nonchalantly. "Yep, I have wind, water, and a bit of ice if I train really. hard. I already completed the first part of my air element training today!"

The Hokage rubbed his chin thoughtful and waved the Cat Anbu forward. "Cat, please take off your mask. The Anbu took off the mask to reveal a a women with long purple hair and light brown lips were a slight purple and she smiled at Kamiko who marveled at her beauty. "This is Yugao Uzuki. From this day forward she is going to be one of your teachers for the Chunin Exams."

Yugao walked over to Kamiko and held out her hand. "It is nice to meet you Kamiko. To let you know, I have never had anything against you and will do my best to assist you. As long as you don't screw up that is." Though the ending sort of killed the kindness of her gesture, Kamiko was somewhat touched by Yugao's words and shook her hand.

"Wait," Kamiko said after a moment's pause. "You said one of my teachers. Who is my other one?"

"He is one of my students. My best if you have to really look at it. I am sure you will meet him very soon. He appears when he feels like it, much like Kakashi. You'll know the pervert when you see him." For a reason she was unable to understand, Kamiko had a vision of the man from earlier at the springs. _That couldn't have been him. That guy was way too lame to be trained by a Hokage._

"Kamiko, I want you to meet me at training Ground 15 tomorrow morning at 11. Don't be late." Yugao said before leaving. The Hokage wished Kamiko good luck and also left. Kamiko stretched and leapt away towards her home. _Now, I can finally sleep._

* * *

**Author's Note: Sorry it took so long to update and this isd all y'all gte from me, but the next chapter should be way better than this.**


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